well..I did it...actually I did two "it's". A few days ago I bought a DHC 9.9 for my main system . I would have loved to wait for the 997 but I was feeling the need for some instant electronic gratification. I love it and it's a huge improvement over the 10 year old HK Signature 2.0 it replaced.

But...just a few minutes ago I also ordered a new outlaw 990 for my living room system. I have an old HK signature 2.0 in there as well with a Threshold s500e amp and Magnepan 1.6QR speakers. After hearing the improvement in sound that the 9.9 made in my main system, I knew I would never be happy with the HK in the living room again.

Good power amps from 10 or 20 years or more ago are still every bit as good as what's out there today, but the preamp/processors have made leaps and bounds inprovements. They just sound better.

The HDMI capabilities of the 997 are not important to me in my living room system, because I really don't use that system for video much at all. It has a monitor and full 5.1 channel surround equipment, but it's not where I watch movies. That system is all about music and the 990 should be just what the doctor ordered for that application